


The Abandoned Fortress

by TriforceNinja



Series: Whumptober 2020 [16]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Bernadetta von Varley Has Anxiety, Bernadetta von Varley Needs a Hug, Blood, Cults, F/M, Felix Hugo Fraldarius is Bad at Feelings, Organs, Paranoia, Soft Felix Hugo Fraldarius, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:07:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28049721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TriforceNinja/pseuds/TriforceNinja
Summary: Byleth, along with Bernadetta, and several others, went on a mission to investigate an abandoned fortress. During the exploration, Bernadetta got separated from the group and lost in the shadowy stronghold. Would Bernadetta be able to reunite with her comrades first or will she run into trouble?No 18. PANIC! AT THE DISCOPanic Attacks/Paranoia
Relationships: Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Bernadetta von Varley, My Unit | Byleth & Bernadetta von Varley
Series: Whumptober 2020 [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1953259
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	The Abandoned Fortress

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: This fic contains mild blood and organs.
> 
> At this point, I don't care that anyone would snark at me for posting these challenges late. I apologize in advance.  
> Enjoy.

“So, we’re finally here.” Byleth flatly spoke as she observed the dark abandoned fortress in front of her.

“P-professor? Why did we come to a scary looking fortress?” Bernadetta shakily asked.

“We’re here to look for clues, Bernie.” Byleth replied. “There were rumours of a cult taking refuge in this place and they need to be snuffed out.”

“Is that why you brought me here?” Felix asked jadedly. “There better be some enemies to cut down.”

“That is exactly why I brought you here, Felix. We need your strength in case there is an ambush.”

“B-b-but… what about m-m-me!” Bernadetta cried.

“You asked for an excuse to leave your room. So, I’m giving you this opportunity.” Byleth replied.

“But why at a scary fortress?”

Byleth sighed at the purple haired bow knight’s ridiculous questions and replied, “Bernadetta, I chose you for this mission to help you face your fears. There is a possibility that there are no threats within the fortress. But I would suggest you keep your bow with you.”

“Um…” Bernadetta hummed in uncertainty.

“We will all explore as a group. I’ll only split it when necessary, but we should all go together.” Byleth noted.

Bernadetta did not know what to think about. She still felt nervous about entering the fortress, but at least she was with people she could depend on. Her former professor, Byleth. The one person that got her to learn new things and open more. And her love interest, Felix. One of the most intimidating students she had ever met but learned that he was a softy deep down. Although Bernadetta did trust the other comrades who came along well, she just had a stronger connection to those two individuals. In the end, Bernadetta decided to follow her former professor and the group within the abandon fortress.

The main floor was big and wide. There were two staircases that lead up to the second level, a couple wooden doors on each wall, and worn out red and gold carpeting on the floors. The group decided to go through the entrance at the at the very back, which led them into a dining area. The giant wooden table in the center of the room was scratched up, and half the matching chairs within the facility were knocked down. They group even notice some splotches of dried blood in the back-right corner of the room. Linhardt paled at the sight of that and nearly fainted, but Caspar was there to catch him. Byleth examined that bloody spot as if she were determining how long it had been there.

“Hmm, this blood looks old, but it could have been there weeks ago.” Byleth stated flatly.

“Y-you sure?” Bernadetta nervously asked.

“No, I’m just guessing.” Byleth replied.

The group later went through the doors on the right wall and came to a lounge with lots of bookcases. There was a fireplace that only had ash in it, a broken-down sofa, which had burgundy cushions, and a knocked down armchair, with the same fabric. Byleth was the first to inspect the books on the shelves. One of them was filled with novels while the others only had a few. Byleth pulled out the books off the full bookshelf to see if there were any secrets. When she pulled out a book called _‘Mysteries of Shambhala’,_ she heard a familiar scream from Bernadetta. She turned around to look at her former purple haired student, but she did not see her with the group. However, she did see a hole on the floor where Bernadetta stood, and everyone else stared frantically at it. Before Byleth could get to it, a stony trap door closed itself up. Angered by the sight of that, Felix attempted to punch the hatch with his fists, but Byleth halted him. The former teacher crouched down to the trapdoor pressed her hands on it and called, “Bernie, can you hear me?”

“PROFESSOR HELP! I LANDED IN A DUNGEON!” Bernadetta frantically screamed.

“A dungeon?” Byleth asked.

“I-IT’S NOT ACTUALLY LOCKED, BUT IT’S REALLY SCARY DOWN HERE!” Bernadetta cried.

“Don’t worry! We’ll find you!” Byleth determined. “For now, is there any place you could hide in case there are enemies around?”

“N-n-n-no!” Bernadetta stuttered nervously. “All Bernie sees down here are shackles, carvings and blood-stained walls down here!”

“Well, I hope you still have your bow. You may need it to defend yourself.”

“Y-yes, I do!”

“Good! We’re on our way!”

After Byleth replied to the purple haired bow knight, she turned to her students to plan a rescue party.

* * *

The area was cold, and dark were Bernadetta landed. Her surroundings were not pleasant to look at. If being in a dungeon filled with shackles and blood was not bad enough, then the symbol she saw right before Bernadetta freaked her out. It did not look like any crest she seen before. It had an eye in the middle, which was entrapped in a spear and surrounded by wings. Whatever it meant, Bernadetta did not feel safe in this dungeon cell. She was lucky that the door was wide open, so she could leave whenever she wanted. Since Bernadetta would rather return to the group and not stand in this prison, she decided to do just that. On her way down the dark corridor, Bernadetta walked slowly as she trembled in fear. A single sound could set her off, which included the rats scattering around the floors.

As the bow knight kept exploring, she came across a room, which was illuminated by a torch. The good news was there was nobody suspicious on site, but there were symbols all over the walls that were drawn with blood. These symbols appeared to show crests, along with a math formula that Bernadetta could not wrap her head around. She also saw the strange eye symbol, which she seen in the dungeon area, which made her shriek in fear. Bernadetta did not bother entering the room. She just ran down the corridor with fear. She kept running until she saw a light down the tunnel. Bernadetta hoped it would lead her to safety, but as she reached the end, she came to an empty room with torches on every four corners. There were also two more corridors in this area. The one on the left was just as dark as the one she came out from, while the right hallway was illuminated by torches. Bernadetta did not want to walk in another dark hallway, so she chose the brighter corridor instead.

As she walked down, she came across a room with a closed door. There were no windows, but Bernadetta noticed that there was a fade of light underneath beneath the door. She did not bother opening it, because she heard voices behind it. It sounded like a group of people chanting in a strange ritual, and Bernadetta did not want to stick around to find out. She attempted to withhold her scream as she quickly walked away from the door. At the end of the corridor, Bernadetta came to a dead end. She was in a wide room with no extra doors or hallways. Within the area, there was a stone table in the center with a rotting corpse on top of it. Blood was stained all over it and there were a couple rats gnawing at the body. If that did not freak Bernadetta enough, she spotted a large shelf at the back-right corner of the area, which contained jars of organs and blood. For everything she saw in this room, the bow knight screamed in horror. She regretted her action afterwards as the door to the room she heard chanting opened. Out came a group of cloaked individuals with dark crow like masks. They spotted Bernadetta immediately before she had the chance to hide.

“Intruder!” One of them said as they shot a miasma spell at her. Bernadetta ducked under the attack, but a second one was fired. She attempted to dodge to the left, but the miasma managed to nick her on the side. Bernadetta fell onto her arms and legs after the burning blow, and before she got up, she noticed that these mages were blocking her only exit. Hiding away was also out of the question, so the bow knight’s only option was to fight back. Bernadetta drew out her bow, backed away as the mages got near her and readied an arrow.

“St-stay back! B-Bernie w-won’t hesitate t-to shoot!” She cried as her body trembled.

The mages stared at her but did not approach her. Instead, the one who Bernadetta shot first was readying a miasma spell. Another mage cast a banshee attack at the bow knight, who rolled to her right. Although the blast did not hit her directly, it was close enough to push her over to the other side of the room. Bernadetta whammed into the shelf containing the organ jars and a couple of them fell off. They crashed onto the floor and before the archer was a human heart and human intestines. Bernadetta wanted to barf at that sight, but her worried gaze fell back to the mages. Luckily, archer still held onto her bow. She grabbed an arrow from her quiver and aimed it at the mages. She tried her best to ignore the pain, but the anxiety in her heart would not leave her alone. This time Bernadetta was showing no mercy. She kept firing arrows from left to right at her pursuers, killing a few in the process. Her Minor Crest of Indech even appeared once during her barrage. But then her bow broke and at the same time, Bernadetta got hit by a miasma cast. That made her fall onto her back and the spell was burning her body. The remaining six mages surrounded her, while Bernadetta stared back at them with trembling eyes.

“Enough playing games, girl.” One of them said. “Since you’re now here, we’ll figure out what to do with you.”

_‘Oh no, oh no, oh no! They are going to kill me, aren’t they?’_ Bernadetta frantically thought to herself as the mages picked her up by all four limbs and chest. But the bow knight still had some fight left in her. She clenched her eyes shut with tears falling from them, wailed her limbs while screaming, “PUT ME DOWN! PUT ME DOWN!”

The six mages struggled to maintain a firm grip on the purple haired woman. As they dragged her out of the room, they attempted to move forward through the corridor. The mages kept their focus on subduing the bow knight, but then they heard a rush of footsteps headed their way. When they looked forward, they saw a navy haired man charging at them with a sword. The mages were not quick enough to react as the swordsman cut down the one that held Bernadetta’s left leg. The mage that held her other leg was sliced down shortly after the first one was killed. The four remaining mages dropped their captive onto the floor as they aimed their magic at the newcomer. Felix dodged the attacks to the best to his ability, and later, Petra and Caspar accompanied him. The tanned lady was quick to slice down one mage, while the sky-blue haired man tackled his victim and punched them to a bloody pulp. Byleth and Sylvain were the next to arrive. The redheaded man impaled a mage by throwing his spear, while the minty haired former professor whipped the last one down with the Sword of the Creator. After the mages were taken care of, Felix helped Bernadetta onto her feet.

“You really are troublesome.” The navy haired swordsman sighed. “They didn’t do anything else to you, did they?”

“N-no! They just found me in that room!” Bernadetta replied. “Everything is scary down here, and… and…” She hugged Felix tightly and buried her head into his shoulder. The swordsman was taken aback by Bernadetta’s embrace but did not shove her off. Felix allowed the bow knight to hug him if she needed, and yet, she never let go. Byleth looked at Bernadetta’s troubled state, before she turned to Felix.

“Take Bernadetta out of this fortress. Give her some time to relax.” She instructed. “We’ll finish investigation down here. I am sure those cultists have something to hide down here.

A part of Felix wanted to protest at his former professor for sending him away because there were probably more cultists to fight. But those mages were hardly a challenge for him, and since Bernadetta continued to hug him tightly, he decided to obey Byleth’s orders. Felix guided the purple haired bow knight through the corridors, climbed a stairwell to get to the main floor, travelled though more hallways and reached the exit. Bernadetta was clinging fearfully to him the whole time. Once they got outside and walked a few meters from the fortress, Felix glared down to his clingy companion and said, “Alright, we’re out of the fortress. You could let go of my arm now.”

“I-I c-c-can’t…” Bernadetta hiccupped as she hugged tighter. “T-t-too… scared…”

Felix sighed out of frustration, waved his free arm around to present the open landscape and said, “Look around you! Do we look like we’re in danger?”

Bernadetta opened her silver eyes, loosened her grip on the swordsman, and looked around. All she saw was a clear landscape, with no enemies to attack them. Aside from being around a safer environment, Bernadetta admired the beauty of the setting sun.

“Wow, I never thought you would take Bernie to see a pretty view.” Bernadetta

“Uh, that’s not my intention.” Felix awkwardly looked away from her and blushed. “Just following orders to take you out of the fortress.”

Bernadetta looked up to notice the reddening of the side of the swordsman’s face. She was astounded by the sight, like the first time she had seen Felix genially smile. The swordsman glanced at Bernadetta and noticed that stare on her face.

“Why are you staring at me?” He awkwardly asked.

“Y-you’re blushing!” Bernadetta replied.

“Wh-what!” Felix’s face reddened out of embarrassment. He looked away from the bow knight again and awkwardly denied, “N-no! Sh-shut up! I am not blushing!”

“Ah! You’re angry at me, are you!” Bernadetta released Felix’s arm and started to tremble.

Felix awkwardly faced the bow knight as he read her anxious state. He never was great when it came to feelings. Even though Felix was aware of Bernadetta’s fearful personality, he always felt uncomfortable when he had to deal with her nervous state.

“Eh, come now. The professor will be here at any moment. So-” The swordsman awkwardly said as he waved an arm towards the landscape. “L-let’s just… stay here and admire this… view…”

Bernadetta looked up to Felix, to see that he was still blushing and was stiffly standing with an arm out. She did not want to comment on his stance, because she was afraid that he might kill her if she did. But Bernadetta would not lie that Felix looked adorable and funny at the same time. The bow knight smiled and nodded towards the swordsman as she stood next to him to admire the landscape. Bernadetta unconsciously wrapped her hand around Felix’s, who stared down at her in shock. The purple haired lady paid no mind to the swordsman’s reaction as she continued to stare at the sky. Although Felix blushed a bit more, he did not bother to pull away. Instead, he chose to look up at the landscape to admire the view. An activity that he was not interested in, but today was an exception.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know when I'll be able to finish my Whumptober challenges. You could tell me to stop now, but I actually want to finish some of these challenges.  
> Well, I hope people enjoyed this fic. More challenges would come soon, and I have other projects I wanted to work on.


End file.
